Whatsapp, Facebook, Youtube, Video games – All products of our Western society which are ironically used by Islamic State (IS) for their modern warfare. In 2014 IS recruited around 3400 potential terrorists per month with their successful media campaign (Business Insider, 2014). Geopolitical conflicts in the Middle-East have been going on for ages but IS’s media use is something new.

The last striking recruitment campaign developed by IS was the use of the popular video game ‘Grand Theft Auto V’ to show how ‘cool’ it is so fight alongside IS fighters. Videos of the game were released in which IS fighters bombed military trucks and shot their rivals. Those videos were shared using Whatsapp, Telegram, Youtube etc. (The Guardian, 2014)

Why is this ‘marketing campaign’ not disrupted by taking down their accounts and websites? According to Business Insider there are two reasons for this. The first one being that IS does not only recruit via these technologies and accounts but also coordinates their operations. US intelligence services need the information spread through these channels to be up to speed on what IS’s plans are and disrupt the physical operations.

The second reason IS is still able to recruit and communicate via social media is the increased difficulty for governments to shut down accounts and decode messages. After the revelations of Edward Snowden many of the tech-giants devised better encryption services in order to make monitoring of messages, emails, passwords etc. by US and British spies harder (DailyMail, 2015). New messaging apps like Wickr and Telegram even claim to offer encryption that cannot be decoded by government officials, making it even easier for IS to communicate and recruit.

As a result IS is still able to recruit today and through the development of new encryption apps private communication just got a whole lot easier.

How do you think this issue will develop in the future? Will IS only get stronger through the development of better encryption nowadays or will governments like the US government be able to disrupt IS’s online strategy?

A lot has been written about the Apple TV, and many had expected it already. Now there are many other forms of set-up boxes that you can use to stream media onto your TV. I have build a FreeNAS server very easily from which I can stream media content across my house. You can stream it through your television, if it has that functionality (check this BIM post), through your Blu-ray/DVD player (again if…), or through set-up boxes like the Xtreamer, or from Eminent for example. Google also has launched their Google TV. (See post by jordydebruijn) Now Apple has their Apple TV already for quite some while, and they state it is more of a hobby project than serious business, but is it? Everyone who can still remember the VCR players that were a pain the bottom to set-up might know the feeling that the current solutions are just not it. Steve Jobs has said in his biography that he cracked the code, meaning he found the next best thing for television.

But there is more in your home entertainment system besides your TV and Media-player. You might have an Playstation 3 or Xbox360. The latter has come up with Xbox SmartGlass, your interactive remote control: (source with video!: Gizmodo)
Another video:

The TV revolution is here. Smart TVs, HD and 3D TVs are set to transform our viewing and browsing behaviour forever. Television has entered a new dimension. This previously one-way broadcast medium is taking a lead role in the next generation of interactive multimedia, delivering a host of on-demand services.

Thanks to Smart Tv’s in-built internet technology, thousands of films and TV shows are now available to watch instantly. No need to wait for a download via another device – just select the film or TV show you want to watch and settle in. HD content is increasingly available via a rapidly growing number of HD TV channels, from free digital services to subscription TV providers.

Thanks to built-in 3D functionality you can watch the year’s biggest blockbusters the way they are meant to be seen, from the comfort of your own home. And with a choice of super-sharp, super-slim backlit LED screens – ranging from 42-inch to a mighty 55-inch – the only thing you need to add for a genuine home-cinema experience is the popcorn.

On the social media side, the smart TV’s web functionality allows you to update your Facebook status and check out your friends’ and family’s profiles. Twitter is also built in, so it’s simple to stay in touch with friends and family on the big screen. All of this can be done via your TV remote control, or a smartphone with an easy-to-use app.

Sitting down for an evening in front of the telly just got a whole lot more exciting.

Here is a link to a video of the TV evolution and its future possibilities:

What implementations would you like to see in the new way of home entertainment?

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